Utilizing digital storytelling to promote sustainable tourism in Lower Mustang
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By Magnus Petterteig Mo
Spring 2023
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This thesis aims to leverage digital storytelling to encourage sustainable tourism practices in Nepal, specifically by attracting more visitors to the smaller villages of Lower Mustang. The outcome of this thesis is a functional digital storytelling website. The thesis demonstrates promising results and highlights the potential impact of digital storytelling in attracting tourists to explore the villages of Lower Mustang.
The thesis employs a human-centered design (HCD) process, with the tourist as the primary user. The process is iterative and cyclical, ensuring continuous refinement and improvement of the solution. Initial insights were conducted, including interviews with the target user, user journey mapping, and touchpoint analysis. Furthermore, ideation was conducted, and various prototypes, were tested in order to gain insight relating to digital storytelling interfaces. Furthermore, fieldwork in Nepal was conducted in order to narratives and material for the prototype and to gain an understanding of the context. Ultimately, a functioning prototype was developed through rapid iterations, and a final evaluation was conducted to assess the potential of digital storytelling for this purpose. The primary delivery of this thesis is a functional prototype. It demonstrates various concepts, formats, and narratives that can be further iterated and evaluated. The website conveyed information through different formats, such as storytelling, sounds, hover interactions, and interactive illustrations. The final evaluation demonstrates promising results, with participants expressing excitement and engagement with the digital storytelling website. The narratives closely connected to the local culture, festivals, and rituals were particularly appreciated. Participants curiously explore the website’s content and are emotionally invested in the things they find. The findings suggest that digital storytelling has the potential to attract tourists to the villages of Lower Mustang, providing them with more authentic and immersive travel planning experiences. The research highlights the significance of enhancing visual representation, conveying the unique vibe of the villages in order to influence travellers’ behaviour. The study also identifies the need to further explore sustainable tourism narratives to encourage responsible tourism in the area.
Full thesis: https://ntnuopen.ntnu.no/ntnu-xmlui/handle/11250/3097115
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